The present invention relates to a method and system for the storage and dispensing of medical grade liquid oxygen, as well as a method of billing in connection therewith. In particular, the present invention relates to the storage of medical grade liquid oxygen in a storage tank located within a medical facility which is capable of dispensing liquid oxygen to portable liquid oxygen reservoirs or to portable liquid oxygen tanks, and delivering oxygen gas through a gas pipeline network. A fixed price billing method is provided for the cost of the liquid oxygen delivered for use in the system.
In prior art systems such as those used by major hospitals or other health care facilities, liquid oxygen is normally stored in very large (i.e. 1,500 to 2,500 gallon) tanks located exterior to the hospital or healthcare facility. Such tanks are normally used to deliver only oxygen gas through a gas pipeline. The gas pipeline may be routed to deliver oxygen gas to a surgical center for delivery to a surgery patient, to a laboratory, or directly to a patient's room for direct delivery to the patient. Such facilities normally use portable liquid oxygen reservoirs to fill small portable liquid oxygen tanks with liquid oxygen for portable use by a patient. A standard portable liquid oxygen reservoir normally holds approximately 10 gallons of liquid oxygen. A portable liquid oxygen tank holds approximately 1 liter of liquid oxygen. The portable liquid oxygen tanks are provided with vaporizing mechanisms which enable a patient to obtain oxygen gas from the portable liquid oxygen tanks. One gallon of liquid oxygen is equivalent to 115 cubic feet of oxygen gas.
Although such large exterior storage systems may allow for dispensing of liquid oxygen into portable liquid oxygen reservoirs, the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs in such systems must typically be brought outside to the storage tank for filling. Alternatively, the hospital or healthcare facility will have the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs filled independently of the large exterior storage tank, typically by a separate delivery from that which fills the exterior tank. Normally the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs must be brought outside for filling at curbside from the delivery truck. Thus, such a system requires separate liquid oxygen delivery to the portable reservoirs and the large exterior storage tank.
Accordingly, liquid oxygen delivery costs for such facilities are high as two separate types of delivery trucks may be necessary, each with fittings adapted to either the exterior storage tank or the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs. In addition, the delivery trucks used to deliver liquid oxygen to the large exterior storage tanks are costly due to the large volume capacity of the trucks required to fill such large exterior tanks, as wells as the fittings, transfer pumps, and metering apparatus required for the dispensing of the liquid oxygen.
Smaller healthcare facilities may only use portable liquid oxygen reservoirs. These reservoirs are typically filled from smaller delivery vehicles holding approximately 100 to 120 gallons of liquid oxygen. The portable reservoirs must be brought outside to the delivery vehicle for filling. In addition, more frequent deliveries may be required where a facility only maintains a limited number of portable reservoirs having a 10 gallon capacity. As a result, delivery and manpower costs associated with filling the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs can be high. Such costs are of course passed on to the healthcare facility.
In addition, the initial costs of exterior storage systems are very high, as the installation of such large exterior storage tanks normally requires excavation work and the erection of a specially constructed concrete foundation and surrounding fencing.
The costs of installing a large exterior tank storage system in facilities such as nursing homes, extended care facilities, or other small healthcare facilities is typically prohibitive. Typically, a nursing home will have several portable liquid oxygen reservoirs which are filled periodically at each delivery. This results in several portable liquid oxygen reservoirs being filled to capacity at the same time. As a result, liquid oxygen will tend to boil off and escape from the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs over time, resulting in waste.
An additional concern associated with the use of the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs is safety. The more a portable reservoir is moved the more likely it is to be damaged. As existing systems require the portable reservoirs to be brought outside of the facility for each filling, the potential for damage to the reservoir is increased. Further, the storage of multiple reservoirs increases a facilities risk of accident due to the possibility of malfunction with respect to each reservoir. It would be advantageous to provide a system that allows for filling of a portable liquid oxygen reservoir at a nursing home or other facility only as needed. This would reduce the number of portable liquid oxygen reservoirs needed by the facility and consequently reduce the number of such portable reservoirs which need to be filled and stored safely for a period of time.
It would be further advantageous to provide a method and system for the storage and dispensing of medical grade liquid oxygen having a storage tank located within the medical facility. The storage tank should be adapted to allow connection to both an oxygen gas pipeline for delivery of oxygen gas to remote locations within the medical facility and one or more fill stations for filling either a portable liquid oxygen reservoir or a portable liquid oxygen tank. The storage tank of such a system should include a mechanism to prevent the liquid oxygen from being completely drained from the tank so that the supply of oxygen gas to the gas pipeline (i.e. the oxygen gas piped directly to a patient's bedside) is not depleted when filling portable reservoirs or tanks. It would be still further advantageous to provide a mechanism for connecting an interior liquid oxygen storage tank to a remote fill station, located on the exterior of the medical facility, for delivery of the liquid oxygen into the storage tank.
It would be further advantageous to increase the safety of liquid oxygen delivery systems by reducing the number of portable reservoirs which are stored at a facility and eliminating the need to transport the reservoirs outside of the facility for filling.
The storage tank for use in the interior of a facility may be limited in size by various state and federal regulations to approximately 170 gallons of liquid oxygen (See, for example, regulations promulgated by The National Fire Protection Association). Therefore, it would be advantageous to limit the size of the liquid oxygen storage tanks to approximately 160 gallons. Smaller storage tanks can be provided in accordance with the needs of the facility.
The system of the present invention provides the aforementioned and other advantages.
As the liquid oxygen storage and dispensing system of the present invention provides liquid oxygen more economically and safely at a significantly lower cost than conventional systems used to deliver medical grade liquid oxygen, a fixed price billing plan for use in connection with the present invention is also disclosed, wherein oxygen delivery is provided to a medical facility for a fixed price per period based on prior usage estimates.
The storage, dispensing, and billing system of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of prior art systems by combining the storage and delivery of liquid oxygen and oxygen gas into one system. Therefore, costs associated with delivery are reduced and safety is increased. The large liquid oxygen delivery truck capable of filling the 1,500 to 2,500 gallon exterior tanks, which are equipped with specialized transfer pumps and metering apparatus, are no longer needed to fill the smaller (e.g. 160 gallon) tanks used with the present invention.
In addition, since the billing for delivery of the liquid oxygen is based on a fixed price per period, expensive transfer pumps and metering apparatus on the delivery trucks are no longer needed. At the time of filing the present application, such conventional delivery trucks with transfer pumps and metering apparatus typically cost approximately $150,000.00 each. The delivery trucks needed to fill the storage tank of the present invention presently cost approximately $30,000.00 each.
Additionally, costs associated with installation of the system are reduced. The storage tank of the present invention is sized so as not to require a special foundation but is large enough to handle the typical liquid oxygen usage of a nursing home, small hospital, or similar facility. Oxygen loss through boil off during prolonged storage in the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs is reduced as well.
Moreover, since the present invention allows the portable liquid oxygen reservoirs to be filled from a fill station located within the facility, these portable reservoirs no longer need to be brought out to a delivery truck for filling, thereby increasing safety and reducing manpower requirements and delivery costs. In addition, the present system provides a method to control the maximum volume of liquid oxygen located in a facility at a given time (i.e. the maximum volume would be the total of the maximum volume of the storage tank, the portable reservoirs, and the portable tanks located at a facility).
Further, the storage of a facility's liquid oxygen in an interior storage tank is safer than storage of the liquid oxygen in numerous portable reservoirs, as the interior storage tank of the type used in the present invention is built to more demanding specifications (as determined by governmental regulation) than those of the portable reservoirs. Also, by avoiding the use of numerous reservoirs for the storage of liquid oxygen, a facility can reduce the number of variables which can factor into potential accidents (i.e. each portable reservoir has its own connections and fittings which may be defective or become damaged).